Israel job scheme Phase 2: ‘Will save up more than enough for my family’

This is the second phase of the recruitment drive for construction jobs in Israel and the first since The Indian Express investigation flagged how the showpiece scheme has begun to unravel mainly due to a skill mismatch after an assessment process that over-promised and under-delivered when it came to workers’ abilities.

The report had highlighted concerns flagged by Israeli trade representatives about how the recruits included “many 20-year-olds who had never worked in construction” and “some did not even know how to hold a hammer”.

Last weekend, the new Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar told The Indian Express that both governments are working to streamline the process, and that “any scheme that you start has mishaps at the beginning”.

The current recruitment drive in Maharashtra is being conducted by Israel’s Population Immigration and Border Authority (PIBA). A candidate who had interviewed for the post of a tiler confirmed that completed tasks were “inspected” by Israeli representatives. Officials of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) too are monitoring the drive in Pune.

According to Fadnavis’s tweet, 9,000 candidates will be interviewed at ITI Aundh between September 17 and September 25. “Nearly 10,000 construction workers are going to be recruited from India as per a memorandum of understanding signed with Israel,” he stated in the post.

NSDC officials refused to comment on the changes in the recruitment process this time around.

Strict security measures have been put in place at the Aundh ITI in Pune, where workers with experience in framework, iron bending, plastering and tiling are being interviewed.

Candidates said they were made to undergo a test before being presented to the Israeli authorities. Narayan says he was asked to bend a bar at 45 degrees, something he claims he did with consummate ease. “Three-four applicants in my batch of 12 did not pass the test,” he says, adding that most candidates who underwent the 30-hour training stayed with family and friends in Pune.

Like Narayan, nearly 350 others have so far attended a special 30-hour training for experienced workers at ITI Aundh. Applicants said their training also involved learning “the basics of English and other soft skills”. Sources at the institute say this free-of-cost training makes them eligible for a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) certificate, one of the prerequisites for the drive, besides a passport.

The recruitments to Israel are mainly through two “pathways”: Government-to-Government (G2G) handled by NSDC like the current one in Pune, and Business-to-Business (B2B), through private agencies overseen by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Under the bilateral job scheme, Indians were to be taken to Israel to work in the construction sector, after over 100,000 Palestinian workers were banned in the wake of the Hamas attack of October 7 last year.

Most candidates The Indian Express spoke to hailed from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar, but worked at construction sites across Mumbai.

Sonu Kumar, 36, a carpenter from Rajasthan who has worked in Kuwait in the past, says he took the ITI training only to “make some good money in Israel”.

Sandeep Rajbhar, who worked in Qatar in 2020, says, “The payment I got in Qatar was good. Many people from my village have worked in Israel. They say their experience has been good.”

Narayan, who worked in Saudi Arabia two years ago, agrees, “With overtime, I will make around Rs 1.75 lakh per month. Even if I spend Rs 20,000 per month on my living expenses, I will save up more than enough for my family.”

To a question on whether he is aware of the ongoing war in Israel, Narayan says, “People from my village have worked in Israel. They have assured me that it is safe to work there. They also said the Israelis take care of their employees. My experience in Saudi Arabia was good.”

Madanlal, a plasterer from UP who has been working in Mumbai, says the lack of “job opportunities” in India drove him to apply for a job in Israel.

Another candidate who belongs to Bihar too spoke about the lack of job opportunities in India. “I have worked as a cement mixer at various construction sites in Mumbai. There is no surety that I will have a job tomorrow. However, that surety is always available abroad,” he says.